Who are the Northern Research Group? The Tory MPs behind the lockdown rebellion

Northern Conservative MPs have issued a warning to Boris Johnson, urging him to “reflect carefully” on his election promises to “level up” the nation and announcing themselves as a major new political force.

Fifty-four backbenchers in the newly formed Northern Research Group (NRG) are demanding a clear exit strategy from Covid restrictions, as well as a clear economic recovery plan for the region.

So who are they, what exactly do they want, and just how difficult could they make life for the prime minister in the months ahead?

The NRG – isn’t that a bit like the ERG?

Yes. The new group deliberately took its name from the European Research Group (ERG) – which is made up of hardline Eurosceptics who have pushed for a hard Brexit. The northerners are hoping they can have a similar influence on government policy.

The group includes many of the recent intake of MPs who won their seats during the “blue wall” wave of 2019, and there are four former cabinet ministers – David Davis, Esther McVey, David Jones and David Mundell – who signed the letter to the PM and appear happy to identify as NRG Tories.

Some 40 Conservative MPs publicly signed the letter, while a further 14 have had their names redacted. It’s big enough to ruin Mr Johnson’s majority in the Commons, if they began voting as a bloc. The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner has claimed the NRG is now “a party within a party”, representing “the biggest threat to Boris Johnson’s authority since he came to power.”

What do the MPs want?

The NRG said its first priority was “a clear roadmap out of lockdown”, which has seen Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Yorkshire and the northeast struggle under tighter restrictions than many parts of the south.

The group also wants the acceleration of infrastructure projects in the north, such as high-speed rail and ultrafast broadband, to boost growth and productivity. The MPs also asked chancellor Rishi Sunak to start “working on a regional basis” to create more employment opportunities.

With their letter acting as something of a manifesto, NRG Tories are determined for Downing Street to make the “levelling up” agenda something more substantial than mere vague rhetoric.  

One unnamed Tory MP told HuffPost: “Levelling up doesn’t mean anything to anyone. I asked two constituents about it recently. One said, ‘Is it about Nintendo level-up games?’ The other said, I kid you not, ‘Do you mean the potholes?’”

Who leads the group?

Jake Berry, MP for the Lancashire seat of Rossendale and Darwen and the former Northern Powerhouse minister, has emerged as the figurehead of the new group.

Mr Berry was once a close ally of Mr Johnson and recently claimed the prime minister actually encouraged him to lead the new intake of northern MPs.  

“I think his exact words were, ‘I order you to go out and set this group up,’” Mr Berry said. “So I don’t know how he feels about it this week, but I think at the time he thought it was brilliant.”

Mr Berry is said to have felt left out by Mr Johnson when the PM promoted many leading figures of the Vote Leave team upon entering No 10 last year.

But the MP claimed there is no personal animosity behind his current “challenge” – insisting the NRG was not out to “give the government a hard time”.